What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Wreck vs Damages - What's the difference?

wreck | damages |

In legal|lang=en terms the difference between wreck and damages

is that wreck is (legal) goods, etc cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck while damages is (legal) the money paid or awarded to a claimant (in england), a pursuer (in scotland) or a plaintiff (in the us) in a civil action.

As nouns the difference between wreck and damages

is that wreck is something or someone that has been ruined while damages is (legal) the money paid or awarded to a claimant (in england), a pursuer (in scotland) or a plaintiff (in the us) in a civil action.

As verbs the difference between wreck and damages

is that wreck is to destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless while damages is (damage).

wreck

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Something or someone that has been ruined.
    • He was an emotional wreck after the death of his wife.
  • The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.
  • * Cowper
    • To the fair haven of my native home, / The wreck of what I was, fatigued I come.
  • An event in which something is damaged through collision.
  • * Addison
    • the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds
  • * Spenser
    • Hard and obstinate / As is a rock amidst the raging floods, / 'Gainst which a ship, of succour desolate, / Doth suffer wreck , both of herself and goods.
  • * J. R. Green
    • Its intellectual life was thus able to go on amidst the wreck of its political life.
  • (legal) Goods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck.
    • (Bouvier)

    Synonyms

    * crash * ruins

    Derived terms

    * shipwreck

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.
    • He wrecked the car in a collision.
    That adulterous hussy wrecked my marriage!
  • * Shakespeare
    • Supposing that they saw the king's ship wrecked .
  • To ruin or dilapidate.
  • (Australia) To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
  • To involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on.
  • * Daniel
    • Weak and envied, if they should conspire, / They wreck themselves.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Antonyms

    * build * construct * make * produce

    Derived terms

    * bewreck * wrecker * wreckage

    References

    damages

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • (damage)

    • Noun

    (en-plural noun)
  • (legal) The money paid or awarded to a claimant (in England), a pursuer (in Scotland) or a plaintiff (in the US) in a civil action.